Future - Science & Environment - Global resources stock check If we fail to correct current consumption trends, then when will our most valuable natural resources run out? As the world’s population soars, so does its consumption, and as a result we are stretching many of our natural resources to their limits. Of course, the assumption is that human ingenuity and market forces will prevent supplies from running out: we could create better or cheaper extraction methods, recycle materials, find alternatives to non-renewable sources, or reduce consumption. The hope is that talks at the Rio+20 Earth summit will help to steer the world economy on a more sustainable path. But the clock is already ticking, and if the unthinkable happens and we fail to correct current trends, then when can we expect our most valuable resources to run out? If you want to see the data we used to construct this infographic, you can find it here [PDF].
Transhumanism: The Most Dangerous Idea? "What ideas, if embraced, would pose the greatest threat to the welfare of humanity?" That question was posed to eight prominent policy intellectuals by the editors of Foreign Policy in its September/October issue (not yet available online). One of the eight savants consulted was Francis Fukuyama, professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, author of Our Posthuman Future: Consequences of the Biotechnology Revolution, and a member of the President's Council on Bioethics. In his Foreign Policy article, Fukuyama identifies transhumanism as "a strange liberation movement" that wants "nothing less than to liberate the human race from its biological constraints." Human liberation from our biological constraints began when an ancestor first sharpened a stick and used it to kill an animal for food. What is a human capacity anyway? Our ancestors had no wings; now we fly. Let's take their over-the-top scenario down a notch or two.
Microsoft Research uses Kinect to translate between spoken and sign languages in real time - StumbleUpon 30 October '13, 08:31pm Follow Microsoft’s Kinect is a wonderful piece of technology that seems to know no bounds. Microsoft Research is now using it to bridge the gap between folks who don’t speak the same language, whether they can hear or not. As you can see in the video below, the Kinect Sign Language Translator is a research prototype that can translate sign language into spoken language and vice versa. In short, Kinect captures the gestures, while machine learning and pattern recognition programming help interpret the meaning. While this is clearly a massive achievement, there is still a huge amount of work ahead. Guobin Wu, the program manager of the Kinect Sign Language Translator project, explains that recognition is by far the most challenging part of the project. Wu says there are more than 20 million people in China who are hard of hearing, and an estimated 360 million such people around the world. ➤ Kinect Sign Language Translator part 1 and part 2 Top Image Credit: Microsoft
O melhor de dois mundos: Solar avanço produção de hidrogênio Using a simple solar cell and a photo anode made of a metal oxide, HZB and TU Delft scientists have successfully stored nearly five percent of solar energy chemically in the form of hydrogen. This is a major feat as the design of the solar cell is much simpler than that of the high-efficiency triple-junction cells based on amorphous silicon or expensive III-V semiconductors that are traditionally used for this purpose. The photo anode, which is made from the metal oxide bismuth vanadate (BiVO4) to which a small amount of tungsten atoms was added, was sprayed onto a piece of conducting glass and coated with an inexpensive cobalt phosphate catalyst. "Basically, we combined the best of both worlds," explains Prof. Dr. Thus the experts were able to develop a rather elegant and simple system for using sunlight to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. Metal oxide as photo anode prevents corrosion of the solar cell Explore further: Polymer-coated catalyst protects 'artificial leaf'
Planetary Alchemy by Alan Smale Let’s fix Mars. Of course, the Red Planet is spectacular just as it is. Images from forty years of Mars missions have revealed its stark beauty and rose-tinted rocky grandeur. In its southern hemisphere Mars has ancient cratered highlands similar to the Moon’s, while much of the north consists of plains lower in altitude and geologically much younger. The giant shield volcano of Olympus Mons rises 24 km, three times as high as Everest, above the surrounding plains. Other canyons, networks of river valleys, stream beds, gullies, channels, layered deposits, deltas and alluvial fans provide strong evidence for flowing water, crater lakes and salty seas in a much warmer and wetter period of Mars’s history. There’s a lot to like about Mars. Some time in the future we might decide we need that dusty red real estate. Such a stunning transformation may be easier than you imagine. Keeping Pressurized and Keeping Warm Down to basics. First, the air pressure. Next: Temperature. Fixing Mars.
Bostrom Responds to Fukuyama’s Assertion that Transhumanism is World’s Most Dangerous Idea Nick Bostrom (Sept 10, 2004) “What idea, if embraced, would pose the greatest threat to the welfare of humanity?” This was the question posed by the editors of Foreign Policy in the September/October issue to eight prominent policy intellectuals, among them Francis Fukuyama, professor of international political economy at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, and member of the President’s Council on Bioethics. And Fukuyama’s answer? Transhumanism, “a strange liberation movement” whose “crusaders aim much higher than civil rights campaigners, feminists, or gay-rights advocates.” More accurately, transhumanists advocate increased funding for research to radically extend healthy lifespan and favor the development of medical and technological means to improve memory, concentration, and other human capacities. According to transhumanists, however, the choice whether to avail oneself of such enhancement options should generally reside with the individual.
The World's Top 10 Most Innovative Companies In The Internet Of Things - StumbleUpon 1. Nest (Google) For solving yet another pain point in building the smart home. Following its game-changing "learning thermostat," Nest released the Protect smoke detector, again infusing a previously design-neglected home appliance with modern detail and functionality. From the Protect’s hands-free silencer and voice controls to its smartphone notifications and battery monitor, Nest has produced the first nonannoying smoke detector—and picked up $3.2 billion in cash from Google along the way. 2. For having the bright idea to make smartphone-tethered bulbs. 3. For unleashing simple connected products for the cautious consumer. Monitor your home. 4. For upping the activity-tracking game with a next-gen, supercharged wristband. 5. For opening a platform of Internet-wise devices to let users customize their connected homes. 6. For strengthening its products to stand out among the quantified-self crowd. 7. For giving users control of whatever’s plugged in. 8. 9.
Learn About Bitcasa and Infinite Drive Bitcasa allows you to securely store, access, and share all your digital possessions – every picture, every movie, every document, every song – without limits. The Bitcasa Platform provides completely private and secure cloud storage, accessible on any computer or mobile device. In September 2011, Bitcasa was launched at TechCrunch Disrupt, and took runner up in the Startup Battlefield competition. By the next day, the Beta invite list had grown to over a hundred thousand people. And Bitcasa was born. Bitcasa has raised $20M in venture financing to date from Horizon Ventures, Pelion Venture Partners, Samsung Ventures, Andreessen Horowitz, First Round Capital, and others. Bitcasa is growing rapidly, and always hiring great developers. Allen JoeTechnical Support LeadConceived by robots, AJ is a time traveling wizard from the future. Based in Hong Kong, Horizons Ventures manages the Internet and technology investments of Mr.
Who should pay when your robot breaks the law? Since it's inevitable I'll take the bullet and bring up Asimov's three laws of robotics: 1. A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. 2. 3. 0. Ike was horrified when people started talking about applying his three laws to real robots. Institute - Bioethics - Articles/News - The Transhumanists: By: Wesley J. SmithNational Review OnlineSeptember 20, 2002 Original article In recent years, scientists have mixed the DNA of a jellyfish with that of a monkey, creating a "transgenic" animal that glows in the dark. ("Transgenic" means possessing the genes of more than one type of organism.) Other researchers are creating transgenic animals that contain minute quantities of human DNA. But what about human transgenic research? Welcome to the surreal world of "transhumanism," a nascent and explicitly eugenic philosophy that advocates taking control of human evolution through gene modification. Transhumanists are breaking the intellectual ground they hope will eventually lead to public acceptance of genetic manipulation — not just to improve health, but to change our very natures. Transhumanists are biotech absolutists. Transhumanist theory has arisen in the context of a strengthening nexus between the views already popular in bioethics and animal-rights advocacy. — Wesley J.
Forget WiFi, It's LiFi: Internet Through Lightbulbs - StumbleUpon Whether you’re using wireless internet in a coffee shop, stealing it from the guy next door, or competing for bandwidth at a conference, you’ve probably gotten frustrated at the slow speeds you face when more than one device is tapped into the network. As more and more people—and their many devices—access wireless internet, clogged airwaves are going to make it increasingly difficult to latch onto a reliable signal. But radio waves are just one part of the spectrum that can carry our data. What if we could use other waves to surf the internet? One German physicist, Harald Haas, has come up with a solution he calls “data through illumination”—taking the fiber out of fiber optics by sending data through an LED lightbulb that varies in intensity faster than the human eye can follow. Haas says his invention, which he calls D-Light, can produce data rates faster than 10 megabits per second, which is speedier than your average broadband connection. Photo (cc) via otto-otto.com
Pearltrees - Colete & Share - Aplicativos para Android no Google Play Save bookmarks, documents, files, ebooks, photos, videos, notes and more. Organize them into meaningful collections. Discover and share millions of contents on your favorite topics. With Pearltrees, organize all your interests anywhere, anytime! Dedicated versions of Pearltrees also exist for schools and enterprises. Media says:"The most elegant and visual way of collecting and sharing online content". Pearltrees can be useful in many situations: Personal life: Tech enthusiast? Work: On Pearltrees you can collaborate with your colleagues to manage knowledge efficiently, mutualize best practices, and share notes across your entire company. Education: Pearltrees is now one of the most used tools by teachers and students.
Vernor Vinge on the Singularity Vernor Vinge Department of Mathematical Sciences San Diego State University (c) 1993 by Vernor Vinge (This article may be reproduced for noncommercial purposes if it is copied in its entirety, including this notice.) The original version of this article was presented at the VISION-21 Symposium sponsored by NASA Lewis Research Center and the Ohio Aerospace Institute, March 30-31, 1993. Within thirty years, we will have the technological means to create superhuman intelligence. Is such progress avoidable? What is The Singularity? The acceleration of technological progress has been the central feature of this century. There may be developed computers that are "awake" and superhumanly intelligent. The first three possibilities depend in large part on improvements in computer hardware. What are the consequences of this event? I think it's fair to call this event a singularity ("the Singularity" for the purposes of this paper). But as time passes, we should see more symptoms. [8] Drexler, K.